He said Malaysia continued to welcome foreign investments from the republic as well as other countries around the world, namely, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, Europe or the American continents.

“We are an open, friendly and business-conducive country, which is why between 2010 and 2016, foreign direct investment flows into Malaysia expanded by an average of RM36 billion per annum.

“This is a strong testament to the confidence foreign countries have in us, and it is a record we should be proud of,” he said in his blog, Najibrazak.com, yesterday.

Earlier, Najib, at the opening of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia’s Economic Forum 2017, said China was Malaysia’s largest trading partner, while Malaysia was China’s eighth largest trading partner, and the second largest in Asean.

It is certainly true that China has gained prominence as a major foreign investor in Malaysia across a broad base of sectors, including manufacturing, services, ports, railways, real estate, construction, education and energy, he said.

The prime minister also said Malaysia believed that China’s Belt and Road Initiative would be a game changer for the regional economy, creating enormous trade and investment prospects via greater connectivity in sea and land links.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which focuses on connectivity and cooperation between Eurasian countries.

In May this year, nine business agreements were signed between Malaysian and Chinese companies, with proposed investments estimated at RM31.3 billion.

This is in addition to 14 memorandums of understanding relating to the defence, agriculture, education, finance and construction sectors worth RM143.6 billion signed on Nov 2, 2016. – Bernama

BM

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